New Mexico State Police to crack down on DWI in December

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State Police officers will be watching for drunk drivers throughout the month of December.

State officials this week announced the sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, saying they will occur throughout New Mexico over the next few weeks.

Authorities say bringing awareness to the crackdown is part of an effort to change society's attitude about drinking and driving and to ultimately reduce alcohol-related fatalities.

Nearly 350 traffic fatalities were reported for the first 10 months of the year. That’s higher than the fatalities recorded during the same period in 2017 and 2018, but statistics compiled by the state show the number of alcohol-related fatalities so far this year is far lower than the previous two years.

The numbers show 92 traffic fatalities between January and October involved alcohol.